The Girls of 3–A
by No Limit 5
Summary: What if...Negi had a different roommate than Asuna? What if he was roommates with Ako? Or Kuzumi? Or Nodoka? Or Sayo? Well, let us find out.


_Ten-year-old Welsh teacher, Negi Springfield, was placed in charge of Mahora Academy's 3-A. There, he made met the student Asuna Kagurazaka as they become roommates. Together, the two grew into close partners that were nigh inseparable. However, what if Negi had another student as his roommate?_

**Alternate #1: Ako**

_Sou yo watashi tachi! Sukoshi datte…hikuki wa nai yo. Honto no jounetsu. Misete ageru kore kara._

Ako Izumi's radio alarm blared. Her hand dragged itself out from under the covers and fumbled to shut off the radio's song. Ako kicked her blanket off her body; her eyes blinking the sleep from her eyes as she adjusted to the shimmer of sunlight coming from behind her window's blinds. She stretched out her limbs and back as she said, "Wake up, Makie. It's the first day of school."

Her roommate Makie Sasaki responded with a sleepy smile on her face and her eyes closed. "But I don't like suction cups…" she garbled as she hugged her pillow tightly, her drool dripping on it.

"I'm going to use the bathroom first then," she said in a singsong voice, picking up a towel and strode toward their sole bathroom.

Makie's eyes snapped open, and dashed past her roommate faster than she could blink. She waved an appreciative hand. "Thanks for the wakeup call, Ako!"

Ako sighed, and smiled. "No problem." As she heard the sounds of the shower water running, Ako searched through her book bag, making sure she had everything prepared for the start of the school semester. She briefly glanced at Makie's bag with all her papers and pens scattered all over the floor and giggled at her pigpen of roommate. She then noticed a small blue envelope in her own bag, and grew anxious. She held it up. The front said "To Kenshin-sempai". Maybe it was a bad idea. The reaction might be unexpected. After all, she was only a supporting character-type. She wasn't any particularly special. Perhaps she should cancel her plans –

"Hey, is that your confession letter to Kenshin-sempai?" Makie asked.

"KYA!" Ako screamed, juggling the envelope before clutching it close to her chest. "Makie, don't startle me like that!"

"Sorry. But today is the day! You're going to finally admit your love toward Kenshin-sempai," Makie said as she spun in circles on her toes. "He will reproach your feelings, then you two will start going out on dates where you share ice cream cones and milkshakes, which will ultimately lead up to the wedding day with me as your bridesmaid! It'll be sooooo romantic…"

Ako smiled awkwardly as Makie's eyes sparkled with imagination. "Actually, I thought I should hold off on it," she said. "I mean, it's the start of the school year. The class workload might overwhelm me. I don't want a relationship to take up all my time," she continued as Makie stared at her, unconvinced. Ako placed the letter on her desktop. "Maybe tomorrow or something. Come on, get dressed. We're going to miss the train."

* * *

><p>Negi Springfield's eyes spun wildly as he exited the train, a mob of schoolgirls and boys charging out and headed for their classes nearly trampling him. It was not easy being a ten-year-old Welsh gentleman wizard-in-training, Harry Potter be damned. Regaining his senses, he gaped in awe at the sight before him. Mahora Academy's multiple towering school building greeted him, making him feel even smaller in comparison. He didn't admire it for long as he spotted the clock tower and realized his meeting with the academy's principal was approaching.<p>

"Oh, bother," he yelped as he ran through the crowd of students. "Now which one is the administrative building? I can't be late on my first day!"

While attempting to find some sort of city guild, Negi noticed two girls running nearby, one with pink hair that was trying to force a blue envelope into the one with silvery hair's hands. "No, Makie! I'm not doing it," the silver-haired girl protested.

"You have to, Ako!" Makie said. "If you don't do it now, it'll eat at you for the rest of your life! Or at least for the rest of the school year."

"I'd rather be eaten alive on the inside than embarrass myself in front of him!"

"Um, excuse me?" The two schoolgirls turned their heads to the source of the voice. Negi smiled uneasily. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your –"

"HE'S ADORABLE!" Makie squealed, leaping into the air over Negi. Negi barely had the chance to scream as the chest of a Japanese schoolgirl came crashing down on his face. He believed that the act was what was known as a "glomp". "I just want to hug him and grope him like no tomorrow!" she shouted, her death grip crushing Negi's skull into her body.

"Makie, let him go! You're going to pop his head off like a Barbie doll!" Ako said as she struggled to crowbar the two apart.

"Hmm?" Makie examined Negi's face, seeing it had turned blue. "Ooh. Oops. Sorry."

She released her hold on the poor boy. Negi collapsed on the ground, inhaling and exhaling rapidly. "Are you all right?" Ako asked as he helped him on his feet. "You're not going to sue us, are you?"

"Oh no. Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine," Negi said, but then winced worryingly.

"Okay…" Ako said slowly. "Well, what exactly are you doing here? The primary school stop was at the previous station."

"Ah, yes. I didn't get to introduce myself." Negi coughed into his fist, and bowed respectfully. "I am Negi Springfield. I am going to be teaching English here at Mahora Academy."

Ako and Makie stared blankly. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH?"

* * *

><p>Ako continued staring blankly well after Negi left to meet up with Mahora's principal. Her eyes had even gotten wider when she saw Negi enter her classroom and introduced himself as their new teacher. Nearly the entire class reacted like Makie and mobbed him. She would have joined them as well, but other matters preoccupied her mind at the time. While she wasn't looking, Makie had slipped her letter back into her book bag without her noticing. After day's classes have ended, Ako walked slowly to soccer club practice while looking intently at the letter. She stopped by a water fountain and sighed. "Why do these things have to be so complicated?"<p>

A scream shook Ako out of stupor, causing her turn in the direction of it. She saw one of her classmates, Nodoka, falling from side of a staircase and Negi was rushing on the ground toward her. It was no use, she realized. Nodoka was simply too far for Negi to catch her; he wouldn't make it in time. If almost as to prove her wrong, Negi pulled free his long wooden staff that Ako strangely did not notice earlier. As Nodoka was about to hit the ground, Negi waved his staff. Ako felt a powerful gale of wind blow past her and toward Nodoka. The wind gathered underneath her, cushioning her fall enough for Negi to reach out and catch her in his arms.

Ako's eyes widened into saucers as she weakly held up a finger at sight. It was then that Negi had realized her presence, and his eyes bugged out as well. "Y-You're…" Ako rasped, trying to find the proper words.

"N-No! I'm not a ma –"

"You're an Airbender!"

Negi blinked. "An Airbend – ? No! I am not!"

"Then what are you?-!" Ako frantically demanded.

Negi gently laid the fainted Nodoka on the ground, and grabbed Ako's hand. "Come with me," he said, dragging her away.

* * *

><p>Negi checked behind the tree that served as their hiding spot and sighed in relief. "We should be safe here."<p>

"Um, sensei, aren't you going to…?" Ako said uncomfortably as she blushed and gestured. Negi glanced down and saw that he was still holding her hand. He promptly released his clasp and apologized. "Okay. So…if you're not an Airbender, what are you?"

"Erm," Negi fiddled with his index fingers. "I'm a mage."

"A mage?" Ako repeated, attempting to process the idea in her head. The thoughts of magical girls crossed her mind, but she brushed them aside. "What's a mage doing here at Mahora Academy?" She jumped back in fear. "You aren't here to turn us all into toads or rats for your evil magical experiments, are you?-!"

"What? No!" Negi said. "I am here to train to become a great mage. We mages work to secretly aid people with our magic."

"Secretly? So what happens if you get found out?" Ako asked.

"W-Well, not only do I lose my license to be a mage, I'll be forced to return home to Wales. If it's _really_ bad, I'd be turned into an ermine."

"An ermine?" Ako said. "What's an ermine?"

"A pitiful weasel-like creature."

_In Wales, a certain ermine digging through Negi's cousin's underwear drawer sneezed._

Ako's face darkened considerably. "That sounds pretty bad…"

"Indeed. I am sorry, Izumi-san; but I must now erase your memory of this event!" Negi shouted grandly as he held aloft his staff.

"Eh?" Ako waved her hands violently. "No, no, no! Don't do that! I promise I'll keep it a secret!"

Negi lowered his staff. "R-Really?"

Ako nodded quickly. "I don't really mind Negi-sensei being a mage. It's actually pretty cool," she admitted.

"Oh." Negi smiled. "Thank you, Izumi-san. I cannot express my gratitude enough."

"It's no problem," Ako said with a smile as well. "Though, really sensei, you shouldn't just trust anything someone says to you when it comes to your secrets," she added with a chuckle. Negi thought about the comment briefly and held up his staff again. "I was kidding! I was kidding!"

* * *

><p>Because of the interruption of her discovery of her teacher being a magical wizard, Ako had arrived late for soccer practice. She apologized deeply to her fellow club members, but quieted herself as that person approached her – Tetsuo Kenshin. "K-Kenshin-sempai," she whispered.<p>

"You really need to stop apologizing," Kenshin said, patting her head. "I'm sure you had a good reason for falling a little late."

Ako gave a tiny smile, her cheeks reddening. "Thank you, sempai."

"All right, everyone, back to practice!" he shouted, causing the rest of the club to groan.

Ako closed her eyes, smiled, and touched the top of her head lovingly. "Kenshin-sempai…"

Negi smiled obliviously next to her. "Who is Kenshin-sempai?"

Ako nearly leaped out of her skin. "Negi-sensei! What are you doing here?"

"I told you, didn't I? We mages are here to help people. I really appreciate that you're keeping my secret that I decided to come and help you."

"I'm glad you feel that way, sensei, but I don't really need any particular help right now," Ako said.

"But what about that Kenshin boy?" Negi asked innocently.

Ako wondered whether her face was still red. If not, it was definitely red now. "I don't have any feelings for Kenshin-sempai!"

"Oh, so you like that boy?"

She sighed. "Y-yes."

"Then Ako must tell him your feelings!" Negi said with a look of determination on his face.

"It's not that simple, sensei," Ako muttered.

"I'm sorry for prying, but I overheard your conversation with Sasaki-san earlier. I believe you have a letter or some sort that has your feelings written on it?" Negi asked.

"I'm _definitely_ not showing him that!" Ako said adamantly.

Negi frowned. "It isn't good to keep your feelings bottled up inside, Izumi-san. Good or bad. Could you possibly explain to me the situation so I may help?"

Ako narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to leave me alone until I say you can, are you?"

"Nope!" Negi replied cheerfully.

"Fine," she sighed. "It all began on my first year at Mahora Academy. I was scared because I had never been on my own before and I had this…well, that part isn't important. I was what you'd call a 'side-character'. I wasn't very important and I didn't think I was worth anyone's time, so I chose to do everything on my own. But my roommate Makie was very outgoing and we quickly became friends. It was thanks to her insistence that I'd join a club, so I chose soccer. There I met…Kenshin-sempai. He was just so confident in everything he does, and he had always looked out for me. He would always support me whenever I fell behind the others in the club, and even helped rush me to the nurse's office once when I went to practice with a cold."

Ako smiled slightly to herself. "He made me feel like…I was important."

Negi nodded, and clenched his hand. "All right, I understand. I will help you confess to him!"

"I told you I'm not going to!" she shouted.

"You're not going to do what, Ako-san?" Kenshin asked.

Ako felt the second time today to jump out of her skin. "Kenshin-sempai! It's n-nothing at all!"

"Riiiiight," he said, jumping back onto the field. "Well, if I'm not interrupting anything, come on. We've got practice."

"Y-Yes, sempai!" Ako chased after Kenshin, but turned her head back and nodded at Negi, warning him not to do anything.

Negi, however, took it as a "go ahead".

* * *

><p>Ako stood at her position in front of the goal post, waiting for to defend it from opposing team. She felt a slight breeze blow past her and suddenly shivered, but a strange sense of swift and lightness coursed through her body, as if nothing could get past her. She glanced around and saw Negi, whom waved back knowingly. "Negi-sensei, what did you – ?"<p>

"Ball!" he shouted.

Before she realized what she had done, she reflexively swatted the soccer ball that was about to collide with her face into the bleachers nearby, effectively knocking them into the air. "Eh?" she stammered.

"That's incredible, Ako!" Kenshin said as he ran by, waving. "I never knew you were that great a goalie!"

"Ah. Thank you!" she responded, waving back. As everyone gathered to assume their positions, Ako turned to Negi, lowered herself to face-to-face level, and narrowed her eyes.

He gulped. "Okay, I understand…"

"Can you have me do that again?"

For the rest of the soccer club's practice, not a single person managed to get the ball past goal-defending machine Ako. By the end, everyone had gathered around Ako and asking how she had gotten so good. "Just hard work, I guess," Ako said, grinning. She winked in Negi's direction.

"That was incredible, Ako-san!" Kenshin said, making his way through the sea of soccer club members.

"Th-Thank you, sempai!" Ako felt incredible, a confidence building up inside her. She allowed a glimpse at Negi, whom nodded encouragingly. She reached into her pocket, and felt her letter in it. "There's…something I wanted to show you, Kenshin-sempa–"

"Tetsuo!"

A pretty young girl wrapped her arms around Kenshin's neck. Ako's mind simply blanked. Kenshin chuckled, "Hey, Akane. Ako, I would like you to meet my girlfriend: Akane."

Ako's eyes dulled out. "Oh, I heard so much about you from Tetsuo, Izumi-san. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

Akane held out her hand, but Ako couldn't take it. Her body wouldn't move; her hand still holding her letter. "Are you all right, Ako-san?" Kenshin ultimately asked.

Ako finally snapped out of her trance. "I have to go!" she shouted, turning away and running.

"Wait, Ako-san!" Kenshin reached out and caught her by her jersey, but she would not stop trying to escape. She kept her eyes tightly closed, afraid she would burst out into tears any moment, and tried harder to run away.

_Rip._

Ako's eyes opened, and her mouth dropped wide. She slowly turned her head. She had tried to run so hard that the back of her jersey had torn open, revealing her long scar across her back for everyone to see. Kenshin finally released Ako's jersey, silent. She couldn't keep her tears back any longer.

She fled the field.

* * *

><p>"Izumi-san!" Negi cried out into the night. "Izumi-san, where are you?-!" He had searched for over an hour after Ako run off. He cursed at what happened. Everything went completely wrong. Nothing could have been worse for her. He paused to catch his breath, and swiped the sweat from his brow. Where could Ako have gone? Finally, he heard a quiet, but distinct, sound of sniffling and crying. "Izumi-san?-!" he shouted, looking around. No one was in sight. Negi was ready to pull his hair out when his eyes briefly darted upward.<p>

There she was. Standing atop the Mahora school building. Almost as if…

"IZUMI-SAN!"

Negi hopped on his staff, and it took off into the air.

Ako wiped away tears, too caught up in her miserable thoughts to notice Negi calling to her. "Izumi-san!" he called once more, his face an inch away from hers.

"AH!" Ako fell over backward, falling on her bottom. "Don't startle me like that, sensei!" she hiccupped, swabbing her nose.

"Don't do it, Izumi-san!" he shouted. "It isn't that bad!"

"What are you…?" Awareness etched itself across her face, and she grew annoyed. "I wasn't going to do THAT! I just wanted to be by myself, idiot-sensei!"

Negi blinked. "Oh. Um, right. I knew that." Ako pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them, burying her face in her knees. "Izumi-san, I am _truly_ sorry about what happened."

"I should have known," she whispered. "Someone like Kenshin-sempai would of course have had a girlfriend. I'm so _stupid_. To think, I thought for a brief moment that I was someone important, and not just some side character. When compared to the rest of my class, I'm just so ordinary. And this stupid _scar_." She reached around and slapped her back. "I'm so ugly because of this! Who would want someone as unimportant and ugly as me, anyway?-!"

"That's not true!" Ako raised her head as Negi pulled her into a tight embrace. "That's not true," he repeated. "Izumi-san is very important to me. She was someone I could trust my secret to. That makes you a very important person. Not only that, but Izumi-san is the most important of all: Being the main character of her own story."

Ako sniffed, her tears finally stopped. "Thank you for the kind words, sensei," she said as Negi released his hold.

"And I think Izumi-san is very cute, as well!" he added.

Ako turned beet red. "S-Stupid Negi! Don't call me that!" she said.

"Sorry, Izumi-san," Negi said with a chuckle. "Will you be okay?"

"A girl's heart doesn't heal that easily, Negi-sensei," she said, chastising him a little, but beginning to smile as well. "But…I think I can handle it from here."

"That is a relief," Negi sighed. "Well, I suppose I should go. I've got to find a place to stay."

"You mean the school didn't provide you any living arrangements?" she asked.

"Well, I was originally going to stay in the principal's granddaughter's room, but her roommate would have none of that."

"Gee, I wonder why," Ako mumbled sardonically. She looked away, feeling her face becoming red once again. "Well, if you have no place to stay, and I still need to confirm with Makie first, you could…room with us. Maybe."

"Really, Izumi-san?-!" Negi asked excitably.

"I don't really mind," Ako said. "And you know you could call me Ako?"

"Ako-san," he said, testing it out, and nodded. "All right, I graciously take you up on that offer, Ako-san," he said, beaming brightly.

Ako felt her heart quicken a little, but ignored it and smiled back. "Let me be the first to welcome you to Mahora Academy, magical teacher Negi-sensei."

* * *

><p>This is the first story I have ever written for the <em>Negima<em> section. It took me a while to finally decide on what kind of story I wanted to tell, but I finally settled on a story that detailed various "What if?" stories of what would happen if Negi was roommates with some other Class 3-A girl beside Asuna.

I knew from the start that I would begin with Ako. Ako is a character that is very easy for me to write a sad story about, which I definitely want to start off with to test my writing skills. Hopefully it paid off!

What girl will be chosen for the next chapter? I don't know. How about you reviewers mention your requests in the reviews? But until then, keep on being the main character of your own stories!

P.S. The Japanese song at the beginning is "GLOW WILD" by the voice actresses of Makie, Akira, Yuna, and (of course) Ako.


End file.
